Pokemon Emerald: The Gift of Speech
by Azulcat
Summary: In nearly every Pokemon game, the protagonist has no voice. What happens when Zoey, a cynical eleven year old and future Pokemon trainer, is given the gift of speech? From the gameboy game Pkmn Emerald. No knowledge of pokemon or the game is needed.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, peeps! This is... I believe... the fourth story I've written. My editor in chief is Lichenstar, whose story all of you should read or at least post a comment for, 'cause she's not updating and it's driving me mad!!! INSANE I TELL YOU!!! Okay sorry, I'm in a really wierd mood... hyper off girlscout cookies, num. ANYWAYS... here's the first chapter, enjoy, please!!**

**Oh yeah; I don't mind flames, but could you hose them down a bit? And make them more of useful comments instead of, "oh my god this story effing sucks please take it DOWN" if you know what I mean... yeah...**

**Ahem, on to the story! R&R if ya don't mind.**

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Zoey scowled as the boxes shifted and bumped around the back of the truck, where she was sitting in a corner, trying to avoid getting crushed. 

_And, of course, _I'm_ the one stuck back here with all our stuff,_ Zoey thought irately, reflecting on her past—nothing. _Huh? What's going on? I can't remember anything!_ Before she could ruminate her lack of memory, the truck ground to a halt, and she was startled from her thinking. The boxes jumped one last time before settling down. Wincing and grumbling about child abuse, Zoey hopped very gratefully out of the truck.

A woman—she _assumed _it was her mother—came out of a small two-story house at that moment, and walked eagerly up to Zoey.

"Zoey, we're here, honey!" she cried excitedly.

"Joy," the eleven-year-old girl griped. She was still grumpy about the truck ride.

Her mother continued. "It must be tiring riding with our things in the moving truck."

_Yeah, you should talk._

"Well, this is Littleroot Town," her mother informed her.

"Looks pathetic." Zoey replied, her eyes flicking over the scenery tetchily. "Two houses? Where do all these people live?" She gestured to the people wandering around the 'town'.

"How do you like it?" her mother prodded. "This is our new home!"

_No. Really? I thought you were just dragging me here in the back of a moving truck _with all our stuff_ to look at all the homeless people in this…_ town.

"It has a quaint feel, but it seems to be an easy place to live, don't you think?" her mother pointed out.

"What's with all the questions, woman?" Zoey exclaimed, throwing her hands up. Her mother continued as if she had said nothing.

"And you have your own room, Zoey! Let's go inside." Her mother entered the house. Zoey had no choice but to follow. _I didn't have my own room before?_ she thought perplexedly. _Okaay…_

Inside the house, two large pokémon were moving boxes around. One appeared to be half-wit, for it was simply pacing aimlessly while clutching a box to its white-furred chest. Zoey was about to point this out when her mom immediately launched into another of her sanguinity speeches.

"See, Zoey?"

"Yes, I can see."

"Isn't it nice in here, too?"

"Well, I wouldn't really know, 'cause you see--"

"The mover's pokémon do all the work of moving us in and cleaning up after."

Zoey laughed gleefully. "Ha ha ha! Slave pokémon!"

Her mother went on. "It's so convenient! Zoey, your room is upstairs."

"Huh?" Zoey stopped laughing at the pokémon and stared around, puzzled, before looking back at her mom. "Where do you sleep then?"

"Go check it out, dear!" her mother urged. "Dad bought you a new clock to mark our move here."

"How does that work?" _Mark our move here?_ She wondered.

"Don't forget to set it!"

"But I don't feel like it! Eh, I'm going outside to laugh at the homeless people." She tried to leave, but her mother stopped her.

"Well, Zoey?" she asked. "Aren't you interested in seeing your very own room?"

"No, not really," The girl replied, wondering what the heck was so exciting about a bedroom. "Oh, fine then." She grudgingly crossed the living room and stomped up the stairs.

_There, I saw it. Oh, hey! I have my own T.V.!_ She walked over the television and flicked the 'on' button.

"And now, back to Teletubbies!" an announcer proclaimed. Zoey watched with wide eyes as the weird little… things… bounced around a field of grass and flowers.

"_Tinky Winky,  
Dipsy,  
Laa Laa,  
Po.  
Teletubbies. Teletubbies  
Say hello!"_

"_Eh oh!" _the four Teletubbies called, robotically waving their arms and staring at Zoey with their emotionless, black eyes.

Zoey was speechless for a moment before turning the T.V. off. _Dad might like that show… well, I'd better get going! Why _should_ I waste my time with a friggin' clock anyways?_ She went back down the stairs, and yelped when she saw her mother standing right there.

"AAGH! Don't just pop out like that!" Zoey shouted.

"Zoey."

_Uh oh, I'm in trouble now…_

"Go and set the clock in your room, honey," her mother admonished, and guided her back into her room.

_Gawd! What _is_ it with that woman? Fine, I'll set the freaking clock! Gosh!_ Zoey set it to midnight, even though it was still light outside.

"AAAGH! You keep appearing!" Zoey screamed when she turned to find her mother right there.

"Zoey, how do you like your new room?"

"It sucks. The T.V. doesn't even have any decent programs!"

"Good!"

"Huh?"

"Everything's put away neatly!"

_Oh, yeah, 'cause the room's condition is more important than my happiness…_

"They finished moving everything in downstairs, too."

"Gee, that was fast, considering they had a stupid pokémon doing half of the work…"

"Pokémon movers are so convenient!"

"Yeah, you've said that…"

"Oh, you should make sure that everything's there on your desk." She left the room.

_I wonder what's on my desk,_ Zoey speculated without enthusiasm. She trudged over to the desk and flipped open a notebook lying there.

_Adventure Rule No. 1:_ the notebook stated, _open the menu with start._

"Huh?" Zoey wondered aloud. "Start? Start what? What menu?" Thoroughly perplexed, she read on.

_Adventure Rule No. 2: record your progress with save._

"Ookaay," Zoey muttered, flipping through the rest of the book, which was blank. "Must be some manual for a video game… well, _I_ obviously have nothing to do with it." She left the room.

When she entered the living room, her mom called over to her in excitement from in front of the T.V. The large pokémon had left, and everything was organized in a bland sort of way.

"Oh! Zoey, Zoey! Quick, come quickly!"

_Sheesh, now she's repeating herself…_Zoey walked over.

"It's Petalburg Gym!" her mother gestured to the T.V. screen, where a small crowd of people was shown standing in front of a large building. "Maybe Dad will be on!"

_Why would Dad be on?_ Zoey wondered.

'We brought you this report from in front of Petalburg Gym,'the reporter lady told the camera. Then the show changed to a commercial advertising poké café coffee.

"Oh, it's over—" her mother began to say, but Zoey squealed, "COFFEE!" and greedily watched the screen. Her mother stared at her daughter for a moment, and then continued.

"I think Dad was on, but we missed him. Too bad."

"Yeah, shame. No! The commercial's over! Did you remember to pack the coffee when we left?" Zoey demanded.

"Ah, no, it must have… um, slipped my mind," the mother stuttered unconvincingly. Zoey glowered at her, but her mom went on quickly.

"Oh, yes. One of Dad's friends lives in this town—"

"Lemme guess," Zoey interrupted. "He lives in the house next door, _the only other house in this town_?"

"—Professor Birch is his name. And yes, he does live right next door, so you should go introduce yourself." Her mom then went to sit down at the table and proceeded to stare at the far wall.

"Why?" Zoey asked, but her mom wasn't listening, so enthralled as she was in the blank, mundane wall. "Jees, what is with the people in this town?" Zoey watched her mother impassively for a minute or two more, and then shouted, "Fine, I'm going to run away!"

Her mother didn't twitch.

Zoey left the house irritably. Wondering if she really should run away, she caught sight of one of the homeless people wandering pointlessly around.

_Hey! It's one of those hobos!_ she thought gleefully. _I think I'll go talk to him_. She walked over to the large man in a blue shirt.

"Hi, my na—"

"If you use a PC, you can store items and pokémon." The man informed her as if he had known her all his life. "The power of science is staggering!"

Zoey stood there for a moment, wondering if she was the only sane person in the town. Then she walked away, seriously considering leaving for good.

She spotted the pathway leading out of the town. _Ah ha! An escape!_ She rushed towards it.

She put one foot past the boundary of the town, and a little girl with a bow on her head jumped and ran over, standing right in front of her.

"Um, um, um!" the girl squeaked, looking very nervous.

"Yeah, whaddya want, squirt?" Zoey snapped. "You're blocking my path!"

"If you go outside and go in the grass, wild pokémon will jump out!" the girl explained quickly, a frightened look on her face.

"Oh, really."

"It's dangerous if you don't have your own pokémon." The girl cautioned at top speed.

Zoey glared at her. The girl rushed back to where she had been standing before. Zoey stood there for a moment, a little pissed, then thought, _Ah, what the crap. I'm leaving to keep my sanity! Why should some pokémon get in the way?_ She tried walking forward again, but once again the little girl leapt up and anxiously ran over.

"Um, um, um!" the girl recited at high speed. "If you go outside and go in the grass, wild pokémon will jump out! It's dangerous if you don't have your own pokémon." Then she ran back.

Zoey was frozen in fear, wondering if she was going insane. How had the girl said the exact same thing as before? Horrified, she slowly turned on her heel and walked towards the Birch tree's house.

Upon entering the house, the mom rushed over, looking surprised.

"Oh, hello." She said cheerfully, looking Zoey over. "And you are?"

"Bob."

"Oh, you're Zoey, our new next door neighbor!"

_Huh?_

"We have a son about the same age as you."

"Cool. Tell him to stay away from me."

"Oh, but our son was excited about making a new friend…"

"Oh, well, in that case, tell him he can talk to me, but is too unworthy to make eye-contact or call me by my name. I will be referred to as—"

"Our son is upstairs, I think." The 'son's' mom interrupted.

"Kay, fine, whatever," Zoey muttered, and slouched up the stairs, ignoring the small red-haired kid staring at her hopefully from by their T.V.

_Hey, his room looks just like mine! _Zoey thought, looking around. _Except for that weird ball thing lying there. What is that?... Eh, what do I care?_ She left the room promptly.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs, a strange white-haired boy about Zoey's age came out of the front door, paused, and hurried over to her.

_Ah! A weird white-haired dude!_ Zoey thought frantically.

"Hey! You…"

"Who, _moi?"_ she looked over her shoulder hopefully.

"Who are you?"

"I could tell you… but then I'd have to kill you." Zoey said mysteriously.

"Oh, you're Zoey, aren't you? Moved in next door right?"

Zoey threw her hands up. "Ah! How does everyone know my name?"

"I didn't know that you're a girl," the boy went on.

"Well, it's a long story. See, the x-chromosomes and y-chr—"

"Dad, Professor Birch, said that our new next door neighbor is a Gym Leader's kid, so I assumed you'd be a guy."

Zoey gasped. "SEXIST!"

"No, I didn't mean it that way! Uh, anyways, my name's Brendan. So, hi, neighbor!"

"It's… Zoey," she said grudgingly.

"Huh?... Hey, Zoey, don't you have a pokémon?"

"Nah, I'm not a pokémon nerd like you…"

"Do you want me to go catch you one?"

_Is everyone deaf here?_ Zoey wondered.

"Aw, darn, I forgot… I'm supposed to help my dad catch some wild pokémon."

"Pokémon nerds!" Zoey accused.

Brendan looked at her oddly before continuing. "Some other time, okay?"

"Nerd alert, nerd alert, nerd alert," Zoey chanted. Brendan then went into his room. Zoey stared after him for a moment, then left, muttering, "Weird. Kay, I'm really leaving for real this time!"

Once outside, she tried to leave the 'town' again. And once again, the little girl leapt up and ran over.

"Um, hi!" the girl chirped.

"Yo, squirt," Zoey said warily.

"There are scary pokémon outside! I can hear their cries."

Zoey listened intently. "I can't hear anything."

"I want to go see what's happening, but I don't have any pokémon…"

_Sucks to be you, then…_

"Can you go see what's happening for me?" the girl pleaded, then ran off again.

Zoey mulled it over in her head, undecided. _Well, I really have nothing better to do, so _fine…

She walked out into a small clearing. A large patch of tall grass grew to her left, and a small cliff blocked the path ahead of her.

"H-help me!" someone cried.

"Why should I?" Zoey replied, but walked forward anyways.

A strange man was being chased around by a weird looking creature with brown stripes. Zoey watched them run around in circles for a couple minutes, wondering what the heck was going on, until the creature cornered the man against a line of trees.

"Hello!" the man called as if nothing was going on.

"Yo," Zoey greeted, still keeping her distance.

"You over there!"

"Who, _moi?"_ Zoey asked sarcastically, looking over her shoulder.

"Please! Help!" The man begged, suddenly reverting to his terrified state.

"Why should I?" Zoey repeated.

"In my bag! There's a pokéball!"

_Why would I want a pokéball?_ Zoey wondered. _Ah, this is a waste of my time._ She tried to leave.

The man flipped. "Wh-where are you going?! DON'T LEAVE ME LIKE THIS!"

"Okay, okay," Zoey muttered. She went over to the brown bag lying on the ground and looked through it.

_What the heck? There's three pokerballs! Or pekorballs… whatever. I'll just… choose one._ As soon as her hands closed over the ball, bright lights flashed in her vision—and she blacked out.

_Aah! What's happening! Am I dead?_ But her vision cleared as quickly as it had faded.

_Whoa, what's going on?_ Ahead of her was the weird creature, who was looking rather intimidating though it was only like a foot tall.

"Zigzagoon!" the creature piped.

"Eew! Take _that,_ weirdo!" Zoey, thoroughly freaked out, threw the pokéball at the 'Zigzagoon'.

There was a flash from the pokéball, and another weird creature popped out. This one looked like a little chick, with red feathers.

"Eep!" Zoey squeaked. "I have no idea what's happening…"

_Idiot, we're in a pokémon battle!_

"Wha…?" Zoey shrieked. "Who was that?" She looked warily at the red chicken thing. "Huh? You talk? Hey… are you a pokémon?"

The pokémon rolled its eyes. _Yes, _idiot._ And it's a long story as to why I talk. But there is no time to argue! Tell me what to do!_

"Huh?"

The thing sighed. _I know two moves in battle: _Scratch_ and _Growl. It explained in an exasperated tone._ To defeat the Zigzagoon, you have to tell me what move to use when our turn to fight comes._

Zoey was weirded out, but she sort of grasped what the thing was saying. "Okay… so, um, _Scratch?"_

_That's more like it! _The pokémon let out a strange call that sounded like, 'Torchic'! and 'scratched' the Zigzagoon.

"Okay, now what?" Zoey asked.

_Now it's the opponent's turn, _the Torchic replied.

_What? It's a battle and they take _turns _attacking each other? _wondered Zoey, but she kept quiet.

The Zigzagoon used _growl,_ which seemed to have no effect.

"Huh? What did that do?" Zoey snickered.

_It makes my attacks less effective. It's our turn again!_

"Alright, scratch!" The Torchic obeyed. The Zigzagoon then tackled Torchic, which looked more like a really pathetic head butt.

"Eep!" Zoey cried. "Are you okay?"

_I'm fine! _Tell me what to do! The Torchic growled.

"This is getting really repetitive. _Scratch!"_

At the last attack from Torchic, the Zigzagoon fell to the ground in a dead faint.

"Aagh! It fainted!" Zoey shrieked, shocked.

_Yeah, that's what happens in pokémon battles,_ Torchic said, again sounding exasperated. _By making the pokémon faint, I gain experience points, or just EXP. points. The more EXP. points I get, the stronger I become. Same goes for any other pokémon who wins in battle._

Zoey was taken aback. "How… unorthodox," she muttered.

Torchic agreed, _Yeah, it's weird. Your Professor Birch wants to talk to you._

"Great…" Zoey said, and before she knew it, she blacked out again. When her vision cleared this time, the Zigzagoon had disappeared, and the weird Birch tree guy walked up to her.

"Whew…" he muttered, brushing dirt off his white apron.

"Yeah, really…" Zoey agreed. She looked around. _Weird, somehow the talking Torchic got back into its ball. Ew, that sounded _so_ wrong…_

The Birch tree continued, "I was in the tall grass studying wild pokémon when I was jumped."

Zoey laughed at him.

"You saved me. Thanks a lot!" the Birch tree said gratefully.

"No problemo. Not that I _wanted_ to…"

"Oh?"

"What?"

"Hi, you're Zoey!"

_How does everyone know my name?! _she thought, not for the first time that day, and checked her shirt to make sure she wasn't wearing a very blatant nametag. She wasn't. Which only made it even _more_ strange...

The Birch tree went on. "This is not the place to chat, so come to my lab later, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever… oh!" she exclaimed, getting seriously cheesed off. "I'm blacking out again!"

The next thing she knew, she was standing in front of Professor Birch in a large room filled with a number of strange things, including an odd looking machine against the right wall and the pokémon nerd standing in front of her expectantly.

"So, Zoey…" The Birch tree began.

"Ah! What the frick is going on? How'd I get here? How come I keep blacking out?" She was hyperventilating. The Birch tree went on as if she had said nothing.

"I've heard so much about you from your father."

_Who the heck _is_ my father anyways? I've never seen him!_

"I've heard that you don't have your own pokémon yet."

"Yes, knock on wood." Zoey looked around for wood, but didn't find any.

"But the way you battled earlier, you pulled it of with aplomb!"

"Yeah, I know, I _was_ pretty amazing," Zoey admitted.

"I guess you have your father's blood in your veins after all!"

_WHO IS MY FATHER?!_

"Oh, yes. As thanks for rescuing me, I'd like you to have the pokémon you used earlier."

Zoey _flipped._ "NOOOOOOOOO!!! Where's friggin' wood when you need it?!" she sobbed. Still crying uncontrollably, she accepted the pokéball that the Birch tree handed over to her and shoved in unceremoniously into her bag slung around her waist.

"While you're at it," Professor Birch called over her sobs, which he was mistaking as tears of joy, "why not give a nickname to that Torchic?"

Zoey was too buried in her misery to care. She shook her head without thinking about it.

"Well, I think you two will get along great together! If you work at pokémon and gain experience, I think you'll make an extremely good trainer."

"But… but…" Zoey protested weakly, wiping her eyes.

"My kid, Brendan, is also studying pokémon while helping me out."

"I'm gonna turn into a pokémon nerd like you guys!" Zoey broke down into sobs again.

"Ah, nonsense. Zoey, don't you think it might me a good idea to go see Brendan?"

"No," Zoey stated.

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid." The Birch tree urged.

"No." Zoey said firmly.

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"No."

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"_Não."_

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"_Non."_

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"_Nein."_

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"否_"_

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"_いいえ"_

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"_Αριθ."_

"Oh, don't be that way. You should go meet my kid."

"Oh, my god! FINE!" Zoey shrieked, miffed not only because she had been forced into yet another stupid task, but that her rather extensive knowledge of how to say 'no' in other languages hadn't worked for the first time ever.

"Great!" the Birch tree exclaimed. "Brendan should be happy, too." But he didn't finish the sentence before Zoey had stormed out, slamming the laboratory door behind her.

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**Well? How'd you like it? I would LOVE some reviews, guys... you don't even HAVE to read the story, just post a three word review to appease my poor, wretched soul and raise my low self-esteem... okay, not really, LOL. But seriously!! REVIEW!! Or I won't update!!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, my beloved readers! I know I am horrible at updating, but that can not always be helped. Also, these chapters DO take a while to come by, as I have to play the game, record what everyone is saying, make up things that Zoey would say, type it all up, and then add descriptions and dialogue clarification and what-not. Anyways, blabbing now, so I'll shut up! Do enjoy this chapter!**

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As soon as the laboratory door banged shut behind her, Zoey heard a faint rattling noise coming from her bag. She warily opened it to find the Pokéball containing the Torchic wobbling back and forth. Growling, she grabbed the ball and threw it to the ground in a rage, only to be even more angered when the ball flashed and Torchic leaped out.

"Aagh! _You _again!" Zoey accused.

_Yes, it's me._ The fluty voice spoke in her mind, as clearly as if she were listening to the Pokémon talk through headphones.

"What do you want? I didn't _ask_ to be stuck with you."

_You need me to go anywhere outside of this town!_

"Oh? And why's that?" Zoey challenged.

_Because I am a _Pokémon,_ idiot. And _you're_ a pokémon trainer now._

Zoey sighed. "Yeah, I never thought my life would end this way…" she mourned.

The Torchic looked scandalized. _What are you talking about? This is only the beginning, the start of a new path filled with wonder and adventure! You get to travel all over the Hoenn region, catching and raising pokémon, ascending to higher levels of existence!_ It paused, staring up at her. _Are you even listening?_

Zoey shook her head as if waking up. "Sorry, did you say something?"

… _Let's just go see Brendan._

"Okay… uh, aren't you, like, supposed to go back into your Pokéball or something?"

_Nah, I like it better out here._ He hopped onto Zoey's shoulder happily. _Let's go!_

Zoey growled, and trudged off through the town to the north exit.

As they rounded the small cliff and waded through tall grass, Zoey spoke resentfully.

"Uh… Tor… chic?" she said hesitantly.

_Yes?_

"Do all pokémon talk?"

_No, only a rare few._

"Great…" Zoey muttered. Then, to her intense surprise, Zoey blacked out—again—and found herself—again—in a pokémon battle.

"Oh NO!" Zoey shrieked as a weird doglike creature appeared in front of them. "Another pokémon!"

"Poochyena!" it piped.

_Yup,_ Torchic replied, hopping down from her shoulder. _Here we go!_

"But… how'd that happen? We were just walking in the grass!" Zoey protested.

_Wild Pokémon hide in grass all the time. You walk around in tall grass to train your Pokémon._ Again Torchic sounded as if he were explaining this to a very small child.

Zoey groaned. "Great, just great… well, let's get this over with. _Scratch!"_ Torchic obeyed. Poochyena made it even using Tackle

"_Growl,_ this time!" Zoey called. Torchic did so. Two more _Scratches _later and the Poochyena fainted. "Phew, glad that's done," Zoey muttered. Once again they set off through the grass.

"Hey, this actually looks like a town!" Zoey said upon entering Oldale town, noting the larger variety and number of buildings. "There's hobos in this one, too…"

_Yeah, it looks more like a town because trainers come here. See that Pokémon Center? That's where weak or fainted Pokémon are healed. That Pokémart is where trainers buy stuff to aid them and their pokémon in battle. The lady over there in the white apron looks like a Pokémart manager. Go talk to her!_

" 'Lady'?" Zoey wondered. "How can you tell?" she walked cagily up to the 'lady'.

"Hi! I work at the Pokémart!" the lady said cheerfully when Zoey went up to her.

"Good for you."

"Can I get you to come with me?" the lady asked.

"You can try," Zoey challenged, but an invisible force made her follow the lady up to a small, blue-roofed building.

"This is a Pokémon Mart. Just look for our blue roof," the Pokémart manager said.

"Gotcha."

"We sell a variety of goods including Pokéballs for catching Pokémon."

"Good for you."

"Here, I'd like you to have this as a promotional item."

"Ooh!" Zoey squealed. "What is it? What is it?" She accepted the strange bottle the lady gave her.

_A potion, idiot,_ Torchic told her.

"Oh… thanks for the… potion," Zoey muttered.

"A potion can be used any time, so it's even more useful than a Pokémon Center in certain situations."

Disappointed, Zoey proceeded to walk across the town to the west exit.

"Aaaaah! Wait! Please don't come in here," a strange man standing near the exit yelped, stopping her.

"Uh… why?"

"I just discovered the footprints of a rare Pokémon!" the man explained in excitement.

Zoey looked at the ground. "They're your own friggin' footprints, dude!" she exclaimed.

"Just wait until I finish sketching them, okay?" the man insisted.

_What the frick?_ Zoey thought, walking away to take the north exit instead. _Am I surrounded by insane people?_

They were wading once again through tall grass when she was jumped—once again—by a pokémon: another Zigzagoon.

"_Another _one!" Zoey cried. "My god this is getting _so_ repetitive… just use _scratch_ until it faints."

_Lazy,_ Torchic muttered in her mind, but did so, and the wild pokémon fainted. In the process Torchic gained enough EXP. points to grow to level 6.

"Oh, neato, so you're like, stronger now?" Zoey inquired.

_Yes, but I am low on stamina, so take me to the Pokémon Center._

Zoey scowled. "Fine, gosh! You are _so_ high maintenance…"

Zoey trudged back to town with the exhausted Torchic slumped on her shoulder. She walked hesitantly into the Pokémon Center.

Once the automatic doors had slid shut behind her, the eleven-year-old tapped quickly up to the lady behind the counter. Next to her was an odd looking machine, with several pokéball-shaped indents on a steel-like surface and an illuminated screen propped behind it. The whole room was clean and elegant in a crisp way.

Deciding to ignore the other people in the room, Zoey cleared her throat significantly at the lady behind the front counter.

"Hello, and welcome to the Pokémon Center." The lady was annoyingly cheerful. She wore a white apron and her reddish hair up fancily.

"Um, hi," Zoey replied warily.

"We restore your Pokémon to full health."

"Okay…"

"Would you like us to rest your pokémon?"

"I guess…" Zoey looked around to see that Torchic had disappeared into his ball. She handed the Pokéball to the woman, who in turn placed it in the machine. The screen behind it flashed a few times, and the machine beeped. Then she gave the Pokéball back to Zoey, and Torchic popped out.

"Thank you for waiting," the lady said cheerfully as Torchic hopped back up to Zoey's shoulder.

"You're welcome."

"We've restored you Pokémon to full health. We hope to see you again!"

Zoey nodded, not trusting her mouth, and then quickly left.

They went back through the north exit and waded through the tall grass, ascending a small hill as they went. As they rounded a small cliff, Zoey caught sight of a familiar white head facing away from her.

"It's Brendan!" she whispered to Torchic. "Let's go annoy him!"

_What? Wait!_ Torchic protested.

"What?"

_Don't you see? He's gonna want to battle us!_

"So? We'll kick his butt!"

_But you should still train me. That way, it'll be even easier._

Zoey thought for a moment. "Oh, fine, then. I guess I see your point." She made her way back down the hill to the patch of grass at the base. They trained together for the better part of an hour, until Torchic grew to level 9. At level 7, he learned the move _Focus Energy._

Finally, after coming back from the Pokémon Center for the umpteenth time, it seemed to Zoey, Torchic tugged on her hair with his beak to get her attention.

"Hey, watch it!"

_I think I'm strong enough now!_ Torchic ignored her protests. Zoey brightened.

"Really? Great! _Finally._ Now, let's go kick butt!"

She raced up the hill and snuck up behind Brendan. They heard him muttering something under his breath.

"Okay, so it's this one and that one that live on Route 103…"

Zoey chose this moment to shout in his ear. "BOO!!"

Brendan didn't even flinch as he turned to face her. "Hey, it's Zoey!"

"That's what they call me," Zoey said cheerfully.

Brendan saw Torchic bobbing up and down on her shoulder. "Oh, yeah, Dad gave you a Pokémon."

"_Unfortunately, yes,"_ Zoey thought sadly.

"Since we're here, how about a little battle?" Brendan asked, a challenging glint in his eyes.

_See, told ya,_ Torchic said imperiously.

"Heck yeah, baby!" Zoey crowed. "Prepare to get thou butt kick-ed!"

Brendan unclipped a Pokéball from his belt. "I'll teach you what being a trainer's about!"

The battle commenced. Brendan threw his Pokéball into the air coolly; it bounced and erupted with a flash of light, and a strange blue pokémon stood in its place. Orange spikes jutted out of its cheeks, and a blue fin stuck straight up on its head like a Mohawk.

"Alright, here we go! Let's do this, Torchic!" Zoey shouted. Torchic hopped down from her shoulder. "Use _Scratch_!" Torchic obeyed, and Mudkip cringed from the onslaught. A flash of shock traveled over Brendan's face, but he regained his composure quickly.

"Mudkip! _Tackle_!" he commanded. Mudkip did so; Torchic merely blinked.

Zoey laughed evilly. "_Scratch_ again, Torchic!"

Brendan now looked _very_ worried. "Oh, no… Mudkip! _Tackle_ again!" Again, Torchic barely blinked.

Zoey shook her head sadly. "Sorry to do this, bud, but—Torchic, finish 'im off with Scratch!"

Mudkip kneeled over, its eyes little x's, after Torchic's last attack. Brendan's eyes might have popped out of his head if he'd opened them any wider.

"Boo-yah!" Zoey punched the air, and then did her victory dance.

"Huh, Zoey, you're not too shabby," Brendan admitted as he returned Mudkip to its Pokéball.

"What _are_ you talking about? I totally owned! Ooh, I get money, too?!" she squealed when Brendan reluctantly handed over 300… something. (I don't know what the currency is!)

Brendan gave her an odd look. "Um, _yeah_? Every time you win in a trainer battle, you get money."

"Sah-weet! I'm rich!" Her vision blackened again, and then she was standing, as before, in front of Brendan at the top of a small hill. Zoey packed the money safely in her bag. She looked up when Brendan began talking.

"I think I get it," he said. "I think I know why my dad has his eye out for you now."

"_Ew_," Zoey thought._ "That just did not sound right..."_

"Look, your Pokémon already likes you, even though you just got it."

_He's over exaggerating a bit._

"Hey!" Zoey said.

"Huh? Who're you talking to?" Brendan asked.

"Myself. Go on?"

"Um, okay... anyways, Zoey, I get the feeling that you could befriend any pokémon with ease."

"You go that right."

"We should head back to the lab." And Brendan turned and jumped over the small cliffs without another word.

"Wha—? Hey! Wait up!" She ran after Brendan, also hopping the cliffs.

When she had caught up with him at the south exit from Oldale town, he looked at her and said, "I'm heading back to my Dad's lab now. Zoey, you should hustle back, too."

Zoey was panting. "Why should I? Hey! Why do you keep running off like that?" she ran southward and entered her hometown. She walked quickly up to the lab and went inside, grimacing.

The Birch Tree and Brendan were standing at the end of the lab. Zoey walked up to them reluctantly.

"Oh, hi, Zoey!" The Birch Tree said cheerfully.

"Yo, Birch Tree," she replied amiably.

"I heard you beat Brendan on your first try. That's excellent!"

"Why thank you." Zoey stuck out her tongue at Brendan, who ignored her.

"Brendan's been helping me with my research for a long time. He has an extensive history as a trainer already."

"That's odd, 'cause he really sucked," Zoey muttered to Torchic.

"Here, Zoey," The Birch Tree went on. "I ordered this for my research, but I think you should have this Pokédex."

"Uh, thanks?" Zoey accepted the strange little gadget. It fit comfortably in the palm of her hand.

"The Pokédex is a high-tech tool that automatically makes a record of any Pokémon you catch..."

Zoey did not hear the rest of his rant, for she had dozed off in the middle of it. She was startled awake by Brendan talking right by her ear.

"Huh, so you got a Pokédex, too," he mumbled.

"Whazza?" Zoey blinked hard. "Oh, yeah, this thing." She tossed it into the air as if testing a new bouncy ball, then stowed it in her bag.

"Well then, here." Brendan took five Pokéballs out of his bag and held them out. "I'll give you these."

"Uh, thanks?" Zoey took the balls and clipped them to her belt. "Wow, I feel like it's my birthday or som—"

"You know it's more fun to have a whole bunch of pokémon," Brendan interrupted.

"Uh, it is?"

"I'm going to explore all over the place to find different pokémon," Brendan bragged.

"Good for you."

"If I find any cool pokémon, you bet I'll try to catch them with Pokéballs."

"Yeah. I... bet. Well, I'm leaving now." She walked out of the lab, Torchic shifting his position on her shoulder.

When she rounded the large building, Zoey saw her mom standing in front of her house. _"Uh oh, I think I'll try to avoid this encounter..."_ She snuck back around the lab and followed the outer edge of the town to the exit.

"Wait, Zoey!" her mother's unmistakable voice called from behind her just as she was about to cross the boundary.

"God d—"

Torchic coughed loudly.

"—it!" Zoey swore under her breath.

"Zoey! Zoey!" her mom ran up to her. Zoey turned around slowly, gritting her teeth into a forced smile.

"Hi, mom," she snarled through her teeth.

"Did you introduce yourself to Professor Birch?"

"Yup. Demanding guy, isn—"

"Oh! What an adorable pokémon!" her mother cooed, patting Torchic on the head, who perked up and closed his eyes contentedly.

"He's not _that_ cute," Zoey muttered.

_Hey!_

"You got it from Professor Birch, how nice!" her mother said.

"Yeah, it was pretty nice of him... oh, did I say nice? I meant cruel..."

_Okay, this is the final straw!_ Torchic pulled a potion bottle out of Zoey's bag and began beating her around the head with it.

"Hey, ow!" Zoey protested, covering her head with her hands. Her mother seemed to take no notice, but rambled on.

"You're your father's child all right. You look good together with Pokémon!"

Zoey rubbed her head after Torchic applied one last wallop. "I do?"

Her mom ignored the question and pulled a shoe box out of no where, holding it out to Zoey.

"Here, honey! If you're going out on an adventure, wear these running shoes. They'll put a zip in your step!"

Zoey warily took the box. "Um... okay...?" she switched her shoes with the Running Shoes.

"Zoey, those shoes came with instructions." Her mother held up a piece of paper.

Zoey scoffed as she tied her left shoe. "I know how to use _shoes_, thanks!"

"'Press the B button while wearing these Running Shoes to run extra-fast!'" Her mother recited.

"'B button'?" Zoey asked. _"What is this, a video game or something?"_ she wondered.

Her mother continued reading off the paper: "'Slip on these Running Shoes and race in the great outdoors!'"

"Wow," Zoey said after a pause.

Then her mom said, "... ... ... ... ... ."

"What?" Zoey asked.

"To think that you have your very own Pokémon now..." her mother actually spoke this time.

Zoey sighed. "Yeah, real shame..."

"Your father will be overjoyed."

"_God dangit I still don't know who my friggin' father is!"_ Zoey thought angrily.

"... But please be careful," Her mother continued. "If anything happens, you can come home."

"Yeah, thanks, I'll remember that." _"Not!"_

"Go on, go get them, honey!" her mother urged, then turned and went back to their house.

"Um... yeah," Zoey muttered, and turned back towards the exit. "Whatever."

Little did Zoey know, she was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime...

* * *

**Tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading!**


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